From the Fringe: Griz and Cats are good, but before the games kick-off, it's getting to be too much of the same ol' same ol' for the fans

For those of us who are lucky enough to reside somewhere in the Treasure State, and are fans of college football, it's no secret that Montana Grizzly and Montana State Bobcat football is our big time.

To us, game days at Washington-Grizzly Stadium or Bobcat Stadium are no different than in Tuscaloosa or Austin or Los Angeles. To us, college football in Missoula and Bozeman is the big time.

And it's been growing exponentially.

My observations come in the form of my 30-plus years of going to games at Montana, starting with my college days there from 1993-1997. Of course, Wash-Griz was a lot smaller back then, and so was the atmosphere. There was no blow-up Griz helmet, gigantic big screens with Monte Movies, or pretty much anything like that. In fact, I was there the first time the Griz ran through the smoke, a 1993 showdown with hated rival Idaho in which the Griz pretty much ran straight out of the tunnel through fire extinguishers. Man that was exciting.

Of course, two years later, Montana would win its first national championship and that really changed everything, honestly, both in Missoula and Bozeman. Everything, from that point on, got bigger and better.

Both Washington-Grizzly Stadium and Bobcat Stadium have gone through many major expansions and renovations since the Griz won that national title in 1995, and with larger crowds came a large game day production. Mascots had their own entrances, big screens got better and more elaborate, the Griz had the Silvertip Skydivers, there were flyovers, flags and so, so much more.

In other words, for the last two decades, the pregame atmosphere inside both stadiums grew into a show any FBS program would be proud of.

However, all good things seem to come to an end, and that's certainly the case for the pre-game show in Missoula these days.

It's my humble opinion that the powers that be at Montana have gotten so complacent that they just fully assume that Monte coming out to the same music for over 20 years and doing the same pregame ritual is what the fans want. I think UM has completely decided that the fans love the same, boring, stale pre-game show that has been used since at least the 2002 season, when the Griz were coming off their second national championship.

And trust me, when I say it's the same, I'm not being sarcastic. In fact, I know it by heart. I know it in my sleep.

UM's pregame show has literally not changed one iota in over 20 years now, with the exception of the fact that they had to get rid of the skydivers after an accident several years back. So not only has it not changed, it has actually been downsized.

It's the same pregame music, preceded by a two-song performance by the ever-awesome Grizzly Marching Band. Then, it's the national anthem, again played by the band. I can't remember the last time UM brought in a guest to sing the national anthem. The only thing that ever changes for the Star Spangled Banner is a flyover once a year.

Following the anthem, more of the same music until the 37 Flag raising, which, while very cool, has never really caught on. We're all proud of the 37 tradition at Montana, but the flag raising is a copy-cat of the 12th Man ceremony in Seattle; and it's been nearly impossible to get the crowd amped up for it. It wasn't original and I just think it's pretty flat for most games.

Following the 37 raising it's the tunnel run video, which for several years now, has been ill-timed so that the four Griz captains often are still at the coin toss when the team runs out of the tunnel, meaning seniors don't even get to run out of the famed tunnel, through the smoke in their last-ever home games, something that's really irked me in recent years.

Even the tunnel itself has had the same inflatable helmet now for over 20 years. Can't we at least get a newer one, something that looks nice?

Anyway, that's the pregame at Wash-Griz. The only thing that's changed is the quality of the Griz Vision in which it's played out on and the music blares through. Other than that, no changes, no differences, just complacency.

And honestly, with how much the Grizzly football experience costs these days, complacency is a really bad idea, but apparently, the university, and the athletic department, and its partner, Learfied, just don't care. Because if they did care, the production would change. Something, anything would be different.

I don't know how Bobcat fans feel about their pregame routine, but I go to enough games at MSU to know it also doesn't change much. Yes, the rodeo team leading the Cats into the field is really cool. It's a great tradition. But, everything gets stale, and I'm guessing the same run-up to the run-out in Bozeman is getting pretty tiring as well.

I know, whether covering games all these years in Missoula, or being a season ticket holder, the pre-game is really stale now, it's old and worn out, it never changes, and I don't why I was thinking this season would have been different. But here we are, two home games into 2022, and nothing has changed, nothing at all.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the way Montana wants it, which is sad, because the Griz have a really good team, a really good program, and there should be nothing wrong with wanting a really good pre-game production to go with it.

Note: The No. 2 Grizzlies visit Indiana State Saturday at 11 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+ only. The No. 4 Bobcats travel to Oregon State Saturday night at 6 p.m. The game is available on the Pac 12 Network.